White bass anglers gearing up for spring spawning run
By MATT WILLIAMS
Outdoors Writer
Sunday, February 10, 2008
Early reports gathered from reliable river rats indicate the annual white bass run is a tad late getting cranked up this year on popular river systems across the round the region.
"It's been slow compared it will be like in a couple of weeks, but there have been some limits reported by anglers who are willing to work at it," said Mike Wheatley, who teams with his wife, Cathy, to run a successful guide operation on the Sabine River, north of Toledo Bend. "Right now, we're seeing a lot of the smaller males in the river. But the larger females should start showing up within the next week or so."
 Photo by Matt Williams Sabine River fishing guide Cathy Wheatley reels in another quality white bass, while her yellow lab 'Gumbo' waits to assist.  Photo by Matt Williams A 1/4-ounce Roadrunner is the artificial bait of choice for most serious river rats. White bass also can be caught on red/brown crankbaits, Rat-L-Traps, minnows and live crawfish. |
Wheatley (409-489-1816) said the water on the Sabine is clear and green, but somewhat lower than he would like to see it. He doesn't recommend launching a heavyweight fiberglass rig into the river right now; a flatbottom boat is the way to go.
"Some rain upstream would definitely help," Wheatley said. "I would like to see it about 18 inches higher. That would create some current and make it easier to get around. Plus, it would put the bigger females on the move."
The guide said the better catches are coming on 1/4-ounce Roadrunners fished very slow around underwater sandbars north and south of River Ridge campground. Best lure color is chartreuse with a pink head. Anglers typically experience the best results using light spinning gear rigged with 8-to-12 pound test line.
Of all the rivers in the state, the Sabine has to rank among the best for quality-size fish weighing upwards of three pounds. The fishing can be good as far north as Longview, but it is the winding stretch between the Logansport bridge near Joaquin and the FM 2517 crossing near Deadwood that routinely produces the best catches.
There are good ramps at either crossing, but perhaps the best access spot is at River Ridge, located midway between the two. The campground is owned by fishing guide Jane Gallenbach and her husband, Tom.
The Gallenbach's have plenty of RV spots and cabins available for anglers who want to stay overnight.
They can also provide some pointers on where and how to catch fish if you need help. To contact them about a guide trip or more information, call 903-693-4441 or check in the Internet, www.riverridgetx.com.
Another hotspot for big numbers of quality whites is the Trinity River above Lake Livingston. The river fishes good from the bottleneck north to the State Highway 7 crossing between Crockett and Centerville.
According to George Hernandez at Lock-N-Dam Marina, the Trinity is currently running low and green. Hernandez said anglers are reporting steady limits of smaller males from the State Highway 7 crossing south the State Highway 21 crossing near Midway.
"The big waves of larger females haven't made it up this far yet, but it shouldn't be long," Hernandez said."
Things are setting up to be a banner year for bank fishermen on the Trinity, unless high water comes. Once the huge schools of big females fin their way upstream from Livingston, they will reach a stopping point at the old lock and dam just north of the State Highway 7 bridge. The fish will gang up around the concrete barrier, where they can be caught easily from shore using Roadrunners and minnows.
Lock-N-Dam Marina (www.lockndammarina.com, or 903-536-2248) has full service RV spots and tent pads, showers, groceries and a bait shop.
There is no boat ramp for public launching, but there is a boat trolley available that can handle boats up to 16 feet in length with outboards no larger than 50 horsepower. The trolley costs $10 per launch.
The Angelina River above Sam Rayburn Reservoir is another well-known hotspot to catch big whites when the spawning run is on.
The river is currently running well below normal level for the time of year, but the lack of current hasn't stopped anglers from turning in some good reports, according to Jerome Hale at Hale's Bait and Tackle (936-564-1514) in Nacogdoches.
Hale said he as talked to anglers who have landed as many as 80 whites in a day's fishing using chartreuse/pink Roadrunners along the edges of the main channel and small feeder creeks.
"The river is real low right now, so it can be pretty tough to get around, even in a small flatbottom," Hale said. "There are lots of stumps and logs just below the surface in some areas."
Most of the better put-in points on the Angelina are remote and hard to find unless you know where to go. The old railroad tram and Shawnee Landing off FM 1275 are heavily favored by local traffic, but the access roads are long and bumpy.
The best bets for visiting anglers is the U.S. Highway 59 crossing between Nacogdoches and Lufkin, or the Kingtown ramp off FM 226. Anglers are reminded that the river is very low; caution is advised when motoring. A four-wheel drive vehicle could be handy when launching at some locations.
